Roger Waters – Us+Them – Zagreb ’18

After seven years, I was again on the road to Zagreb venue Arena. Again to the concert of , this time on the tour Us + Them. I was in the company of Gregor, Teja, and Tedej. After parking the car and moving towards the venue atmosphere was picking up, a crowd of different generations was forming into a big mass. I was having trouble walking with a crutch while my left Achilles tendon was torn just 2 months before, but I wouldn’t miss this concert.

At 20:20 he opened the concert with songs from the Dark Side of the Moon album: Speak to me and Breathe, continued with One of These Days, Time, Breathe (Reprise), The Great Gig in the Sky (covered by two vocals), and Welcome to the Machine (all Pink Floyd songs). Then he moved to his last album (Déjà Vu, The Last Refugee, Picture That). Waters returned to the roots with Wish You Were Here, a song that has a special meaning to me. The first part was finished with songs from the Wall album: The Happiest Days of Our Lives, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, and Another Brick in the Wall Part 3. Kids joined on stage, hope they got paid this time 🙂

In 20 minutes break I had time for toilet and another beer. On my way I met Rony, ž, got lost a bit.

In the second part he stepped up, even the first part was great by itself. It was time for Animals album inspired by Orwell. From the roof they lower screens that shaped Battersea Power Plant from the cover of the album. First, it was the song Dogs with an antiwar sentiment. Performance of Pigs was pointed against world leaders, especially Trump. He was portrayed as a pig flying around, his absurd quotes were displayed on screens, he labeled him a pig … It was time again for the Dark Side of the Moon album (Money, Us and Them, Brain Damage, and Eclipse) with Smell the Roses from the last album in the middle. Scenography changed into pyramid/prism-shaped with lights and rainbow of light coming out, again mimicking album cover.

After 10 minutes of ovations, they returned and Roger seamed touched. He told a story with a message There is only one road and we only get to travel it once. Yet again, while performing Mother on the screen was printed NEMA JEBENE ŠANSE (NO FUCKING WAY) when lyrics came to Mother, should I trust the government? It all ended with Comfortably Numb. We were covered with confetti that said Resist.

74 years old Roger Waters didn’t disappoint. The concert was a full package. Great lyrics from 4 Pink Floyd albums were just twice (4 songs) interrupted with new material. The performance by Roger and 9 members of the bend was breathtaking. Quadraphonic sound was adding to the effect. The scenography was a visual spectacle. All of this was accompanied by a strong political message. Occasionally it was overwhelming. This was well spent 55 € and I think a crowd of 15.000 would agree with me. Just comment on selling t-shirts was little …

On our way back it was a big traffic jam. On the border, it was a long queue and after half an hour of waiting, I need a toilet because of beer. So I left the car and attended the nearest lamp surrounded by lots of cars.

SETLIST

• Set 1:
  • Speak to Me (Pink Floyd song)
  • Breathe (Pink Floyd song)
  • One of These Days (Pink Floyd song)
  • Time (Pink Floyd song)
  • Breathe (Reprise) (Pink Floyd song)
  • The Great Gig in the Sky (Pink Floyd song)
  • Welcome to the Machine (Pink Floyd song)
  • Déjà Vu
  • The Last Refugee
  • Picture That
  • Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd song)
  • The Happiest Days of Our Lives (Pink Floyd song)
  • Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 (Pink Floyd song)
  • Another Brick in the Wall Part 3 (Pink Floyd song)
• Set 2:
  • Dogs (Pink Floyd song)
  • Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pink Floyd song)
  • Money (Pink Floyd song)
  • Us and Them (Pink Floyd song)
  • Smell the Roses
  • Brain Damage (Pink Floyd song)
  • Eclipse (Pink Floyd song)
• Encore:
  • Mother (Pink Floyd song)
  • Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd song)